BIOGRAPHY

 

From Algeria to England, from Portugal to Belgium, Wendy grew up through the travels, some quite harsh, told by her grandparents in colourful accents. She learned through these old family tales that a simple story can hide a lot of fairy-tale mystery.

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Wendy Nazaré is the fruit of a delightful mix. She discovered music at a very young age thanks to her grandmother who sang for her the popular English songs of her own childhood, while playing the mandolin. Most of Wendy’s nights were spent as a family, gathered at the fireside, listening to the piano. Family is the pillar of her life. She wrote her first French song at 16, to tell the story of her father.

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But this was no mere hobby. At 11 she wrote her first song, in English.... or at least in the English she knew then. Her gift of the gab and a dash of luck opened the doors of a small recording studio in the outskirts of Brussels. She ended spending all her weekends there for two years, recording her songs for hours and days. Recordings were piling up in the teen’s bedroom. What her parents shrugged off as mere hobby that would soon fade actually became a roaring passion and a vital need for Wendy.

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A few years of Musical Academy later, Wendy signs a contract with a record company based in Quebec. Singing lessons, stage lessons, first disappointments: Wendy is well and truly introduced to the musical industry. The album wouldn’t come out, but she learned two major lessons: the artistic entourage matters more than anything else, and anchoring in reality is inseparable from artistic life. Around her friend and composer Christophe Henin, she gathers a team that would still be with her to this day. At Liège University, she graduates in psychology: listening and being open to the world to be able to convey feelings and emotions accurately.

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Them comes the album “Pas de pareil”. First released in Belgium with the record label Lgsr, the album is quickly spotted by Universal Music Belgium. At this time of sluggishness for the Belgian labels, Wendy Nazaré manages to get this giant out of its almost 10 years torpor without a local production. The exception Wendy Nazaré and her single “Mon pays” make her one of the most important artists of the Belgian stage. She even receives in 2009 the Bel RTL People’s Choice for best new artist of the year, and does a concert on the stage of “Francos de Spa”, in addition to being the opening act of many famous artists. On stage, Wendy reveals a side of herself barely concealed on her album: sparkly, genuine and carefree.

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In 2012, “À tire d’ailes” comes out in Belgium and France, and a few years later in Portugal and Quebec alongside the single “Au goût eighties".

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The international Portuguese community breathes new life into Wendy’s career via the title “Lisboa” and its music video that quickly reaches the million of views. This single becomes a roaring success in Portugal in 2013.

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These new experiences inspire Wendy who starts to write a few songs in English and Portuguese. These songs were born through travels, life changes, birth, rebirth. A new tree grew from this diversified soil that characterises Wendy.

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The new titles were born during trips outside of time with Arthur de la Taille and Christophe Henin. They shared their foolish innocence, their dreams and their nomadic desires. This musical friendship, more than ten years old now, built a creative complicity, a union that started with “mon pays” in 2009. “Meu pais” got a new accent and a new meaning in 2018, thanks to the Portuguese community all over the world, which has truly been a muse to Wendy these last few years.

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Sailing away, without compass or maps, peeping above the roofs, and finding unexpected adventures in oneself. Throughout time and travels, English became obvious to Wendy. Friendships with Joshua Jamison and Sebastien Lyons compelled her to go further. Joshua lent her his big brother’s support, and Sebastien his poesy.

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Previous songs were an invitation to travel through tales of the past, but these new stories are about departures of all kinds, finding strength in yesterday’s journeys, to go and find new “Home Sweet Home”. À few “Adeus”, some “Game Over” that prompt us to try unbidden pathways.